Apache Nugget hosts grand reopening

CUBA, NM — Community members followed the bright lights and joyful sounds to the front entrance of the Apache Nugget Travel Center & Casino on Friday morning as the popular gaming location reopened its doors after a nearly five-year break for renovations.

When the Apache Nugget shuttered its windows and locked its doors due to the pandemic in March 2020, the tribe wasn’t sure if it would ever open again.

Those were uncertain times for everyone.

On Feb. 14, those fears proved unfounded as the Jicarilla Apache Tribe kicked off the Apache Nugget Travel Center & Casino Grand Reopening ceremony.

The festivities took place at the Apache Nugget, located just outside of Cuba, and kicked off at about 1 p.m. with a ribbon cutting and speeches before the doors were officially opened and the public poured in.

“Our Cuba casino was a popular community hub before the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to close,” said Tony J. Amormino, president and CEO of Apache Nugget Corporation.

“We’re thrilled to be back and better than ever,” Amormino said in a news release. “We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Cuba.”

The new-look Apache Nugget has an elegant-yet-inviting feel and honors tribal heritage while at the same time offering the newest amenities.

According to the news release, the new Casino includes 80 new slot machines, a “wall full of electronic table game stations”, a state-of-the-art race/sportsbook, and a new “Players Club.”

The casino isn’t the only place that held a grand reopening; it is the “Apache Nugget Travel Center & Casino” after all.

The newly renovated travel center offers a convenience store, gas station and truckers’ lounge, and it opened its doors as well.

The Apache Nugget Travel Center & Casino is owned by the Jicarilla Apache Nation, which relocated to north-central New Mexico in the early 1700s. The Jicarilla Apache Reservation spans 879,917 acres near the San Juan River Basin and Rio Chama.

“We honor the tribe in all we do,” the news release stated. “[The tribe’s] core values of family and belonging are at the center of our operations.”

The Apache Nugget Travel Center & Casino is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 550 and State Highway 537, about 10-15 miles northwest of Cuba.

According to santafe.org, the tribe also owns the Wild horse Casino in Chandler, Arizona.

For more information, visit apachenuggetcasino.com.